LAHORE: Despite taxpayer support for a fiscal contract where citizens agree to pay taxes in exchange for services, a global poll suggests that only a third see the deal working in practice.

The poll finds that 52 per cent of respondents ag­­­­­­ree that taxes are a co­­ntribution to the community rather than a cost (25pc disagree, rest neutral), but only 33pc agree that tax revenues in their country are spent for the public good (46pc disag­r­ee, rest neutral).

In addition, 32pc agree that public services and infrastru­cture are a fair return for the taxes they pay (50pc disagree, rest neutral).

However, the survey found that Latin Ameri­can countries are consistently less positive than the regional averages for the sample countries in Africa and Asia.

The findings are consistent with previous G20 survey results, where Mexico, Argentina and Brazil typically return lower trust and confidence scores than average.

Latin America and Beyond — research by ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Acc­ountants), IFAC (Inter­na­tional Federation of Ac­­countants) and joined for the first time by the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) — surveyed some of the largest countries by population in different regions of the world, including a deep dive focus on Latin Ame­rica, encompassing different cultures and economies.

The 2024 survey marks the most significant expansion of the work to date, both in terms of questions asked and the countries covered.

The focus on Latin America highlighted a weaker support for the fi­­scal contract in the re­­gion, with only 47pc agr­e­­eing taxes are a contribution, and just 25pc agreeing public services and infrastructure are a fair return for the taxes they pay.

“Trust in tax systems is crucial for sustainable development and prosperity, and the findings of this survey highlight the challenges that many governments across the world face in building it,” Helen Brand OBE, chief executive of ACCA says.

Manal Corwin, Director of the OECD Centre for Tax Policy and Administration said, “We are pleased to join ACCA and IFAC on this key research. The findings in this report highlight that support for the fiscal contract remains strong in theory, but it’s not being delivered in practice for many. We can use these findings to identify how to rebuild trust in both the theory and practice of tax across the globe.”

Published in Dawn, December 21st, 2024